Wall Street Journal: Agrexco the biggest Israeli exporter of fresh agricultural produce

The company exported agricultural produce of high quality under the Carmel brand for about $663 million
 
According to a recent Wall Street Journal report devoted to Agrexco the newspaper described the company as one of the largest Israeli exporters of fresh agricultural products of high quality. The article noted that the sales of Israeli avocadoes have reached one-third of all fruit sold in Europe.
 
2009saw a 12% rise in Agrexco’s sales turnover and the company leads Israel’s agricultural exports this year. Last year, the company exported agricultural produce under the Carmel brand for about € 492 million (about $663 million). Israel is the sole producer of avocado "green", a special variety of avocado which would be "environmentally friendly" (the de worming process is purely organic and does not include the spraying of herbicide). Three-quarters of avocadoes farmers in Israel are members of the Avocado Farmers' Union which has a strategic partnership with Agrexco.
 
Agrexco CEO, Shlomo Tirosh, told the paper that Israel markets 390,000 tons of fresh agricultural produce to countries all around the globe, with avocado taking the first place. This season, the fruit’s exports are expected to reach 36,000 tons compared to 22,000last year – an increase of more than 50%. Pepper came in second with about 36,000 tons, in spite of the difficult winter in the Arava region. It was followed by organic and conventional tomatoes, mainly cherry tomatoes.
 
Green herbs have also had a strong international export presence – particularly basil, chives and mint. Despite the competition from Egypt, Morocco and Spain, the Israeli herbs’ popularity is quite stable due to their high quality. In addition, the sales of Israel’s melons have risen by 50% after several years of decline.